Kowalewski, Fulcomer, Ferlise Win Berkeley Board Seats

10:28 p.m. Voters here have also turned down the $27,489,152 tax levy portion of the Central Regional Board of Education's budget by a vote of 2,485 to 2,379.

10:22 pm. Voters here have defeated the $26,512,541 tax levy portion of the Berkeley Township Board of Education's school budget by 2,101 votes to 1,929 votes.

10:16 pm.- The team of Kowalewski, Ferlise and Fulcomer have won the three available seats on the Berkeley Board of Education. Noriko Kowalewski was the top vote getter with 2,499 votes. Ferlise was second with 2,210 votes, followed by Fulcomer with 2,185 votes. Peter F. LaRocca, who ran on his own, was fourth with 1,592 votes.  Louis Tuminaro and Gerard Reuter, who ran as a team, received 1,034 and 933 votes, respectively.

10:06 p.m. Close vote on tax levy portion of Berkeley school budget - 1,756 no votes to 1,682 yes votes. Not all districts in yet.

10:00 p.m. -Kowalewski still leading with 1,865 votes. Ferlise- 1,623. Fulcomer-1,609, LaRocca, 1,232, Tuminaro, 810, Reuter - 728. Results from 26 of Berkeley's 38 voting districts are in.

9:42 p.m.- Newcomer Noriko Kowalewski is leading the race for a seat on the Berkeley Board of Education, along with her running mates Salvatore Ferlise and Jim Fulcomer. Kowalewski has 1,206 votes. Ferlise,  1,045 votes, Fulcomer 1,040 votes. Peter F. LaRocca has 826 votes. Louis J. Tuminaro and Gerard C. Reuter, who are running as a team, have  573 votes and 521 votes respectively.

9:35 p.m. Former Seaside Heights Councilman Michael Graichen has defeated incumbent Frances Little in the race for the Seaside Heights seat on the Central Regional Board of Education. Graichen had 128 votes to Little's 44 votes. In Ocean Gate, Stephanie Jensen has won the Ocean Gate seat on the Central Regional Board with 109 votes. Challenger Michael Passeri received 95 votes. Tracy Mianulli has won the Seaside Park seat on the board with 244 votes. She ran unopposed.

9:27 p.m. - Newcomer Noriko Kowalewski is leading the race for a seat on the Berkeley Board of Education with 526 votes. Salvatore Ferlise is second with 455, followed by Jim Fulcomer with 454. Peter F. LaRocca has 395 votes. Louis J. Tuminaro has 277 votes. Gerard C. Reuter has 244

9:19 pm - No results in yet from either Berkeley or Central Regional school districts. The township has 38 polling places.

9:00 p.m. Polls are closed! Stay tuned to Berkeley Patch tonight for the latest vote totals in both the Central Regional and Berkeley school board races and budgets.

Central Regional schools Superintendent Triantafillos "Tom" Parlapanides and school Business Administrator Kevin O'Shea are hunkered down in the Board of Education office to await the results.

8:15 p.m., Parlapanides was cautiously optimistic about the tax levy's passage. He is hoping that many Central Regional alumni away at college cast absentee ballots. And judging by his Facebook page, many of them had, Parlapanides said.

"Every vote counts," he said.

We will provide the latest updates as they are received from the Ocean County Clerk's Office, starting at 9 p.m. when the polls close.

Berkeley Patch will also provide complete stories on the races once all the results are in.

The gymnasium at the H & M Potter School in Bayville was almost empty except for the poll workers shortly after 3 p.m.

Both Mary Kirby and Andrea DiPietro had each had only nine residents come to sign the books before heading into the voting booths. But that was expected to change later in the day, as residents headed home from work.

"It usually gets busy around dinner time," Kirby said.

Berkeley schools Superintendent Joseph H. Vicari is attending his daughter's birthday party tonight and will not be at the board office. But Vicari said he plans to check in periodically.